Diminuendo
by Olympia Howl
Summary: Murdoc Niccals walks into a music store and meets its owner. The two click, and the perverse bassist uneasily enters his first conventional relationship. (Murdoc x OC)
1. Chapter 1

_Chapter 1_

"BLOODY 'ELL!" The bassist's deafening cry pierced the ears of his fellow bandmembers. Russel flinched, smacking his head over his ears. "Man, chill. It's a damn string," he growled. Murdoc moaned unintelligibly, making dramatic gestures at the broken E-string on his bass. "If ye 'ave a spare, we can keep o' practicin',"2D said meekly. Murdoc turned slowly to the blue-haired singer, a violent glint in his eye. 2D squeaked and cowered behind Noodle, who stood observing the scene with a mildly annoyed expression.

"I don't 'AVE a spare, ya dullard," Murdoc said. He set his bass down and grabbed his jacket, grumbling loudly. "Go to Scherzando," Noodle said. "Fuck that, whot the fuck is that?" Murdoc snapped, putting on his jacket with an air of agitation. Noodle muttered something in Japanese before answering. "It's a new music store, it opened up behind Fatboy's Diner. Prices are good. Go."  
Murdoc glowered at her. Noodle returned a toothy smile. After a few seconds, his eyes softened a bit. As nasty as the old pickle was, he did harbor a soft spot for the guitarist. "Yeh, yeh. I'm goin'," he said. "Murdoc Niccals will be back!" He roared before stomping out of the practice room. The bandmembers waited for the sound of the front door slamming before breathing out a collective sigh of relief.

* * *

"Scher….Skeer…fuck, I forgo' the damn name…Scherzzy…FUCK." Murdoc stalked towards Fatboy's Diner, a rundown place with a flickering 'OPEN' sign hung on the door. He vaguely remembered something Noodle said about the diner, but he was too hungover and muddled to recollect the details. He walked around it and before him, right across the street, stood a small building painted the color of sky blue. Above the door in bold cursive were the words _Scherzando Music Center_. Eighth notes, clefs, and other musical symbols embellished the walls.

Murdoc crossed the street languidly, not acknowledging the oncoming cars that screeched to a halt and honked in outrage. He pushed the glass door open, triggering a welcome bell to ring. A screechy violin could be heard somewhere in the back; it sounded like a wretched rendition of Twinkle, Twinkle. Natural light shining through the windows gave the store a bright and vivacious feel. Neatly aligned shelves stood all over the store, bearing sheet music, CDs, tuners, metronomes, guitar picks, seemingly anything and everything related to music. _Everything except bass strings_ , Murdoc thought grumpily.

"'Ello!" he called out, hoping to get an employee's attention. The violin stopped. From behind a tall shelf in the back of the store poked out a woman's head. "I'll be right with you!" she called back, flashing a quick smile before disappearing behind the shelf again. Mildly curious, Murdoc took a few steps closer. "It looks a little big….do you have any smaller violins for him?" Another woman's voice said. "Oh no, this violin is quite fine; his fingers reach the Scroll Box, see? Jonah, does the violin feel alright?" The other asked. "It feels awlright," a small boy's voice replied. Murdoc tuned the conversation out, idly going through the sheet music in a nearby box.

After a few minutes, he looked up and saw that the three had emerged from behind the shelf and were at the register on the other side of the room. The boy held a violin case at his side proudly, skipping around his mother who was busy pulling a card out of her wallet. "Jonah, keep still, or else you'll break the thing," his mother said, half annoyed, half amused. They paid and left, the mother pulling her son tightly to her side when they walked past a haggard-looking Murdoc. He ignored them and turned to the woman behind the counter, a handsome woman in her early 40s, with sand-colored hair tied up in a bun and sharp, blue eyes behind a pair of thick rimmed glasses. "Hello! What can I do for you?" she asked with a polite smile. "Ye got bass strings 'ere, love? E-string," Murdoc inquired with a flirtatious glint in his eye; she wasn't a young bird, but he found her attractive.  
"We do, we do. Any particular type or, ah, brand, sir?"  
"Surprise me."  
"Do you like expensive or cheap surprises?"  
"….cheap."  
The woman's eyes flickered in amusement. "Come right this way," she said, motioning him to follow her.


	2. Chapter 2

_Chapter 2_

"Pleasure doing business with you, Mr. Niccals," the woman said, handing him a small bag and receipt. "Mm, so ye know me name, eh?" Murdoc asked slyly. "You gave it to me about five times," the woman replied with a wry smile. The two stood for a moment, eyes locked. Murdoc knew his bandmembers were waiting for him, but he felt strangely reluctant to leave. "S-so how long ye been here, anyway?" he asked, feigning nonchalance. "Eh? Oh, it'll be a year in two months! It's been wonderful so far, running this store. Frustrating and a bit financially fruitless, but...wonderful," she said, adjusting her glasses. A customer waiting behind Murdoc cleared his throat impatiently. The bassist shot him a withering stare before turning back to the lady behind the counter. "I best be going."

The woman lowered her head and smiled gingerly. "Come again soon, yeah?" she said. Murdoc nodded. "With a pretty thing like ye runnin' this, er, establishment, I'll be back very soon," he purred. "Can I have ye name?"

"Ivy," she replied.

"Ivy," Murdoc repeated. He noticed some music note keychains for sale next to the register. "Ivy. I'll make _note_ of that, hergheheh," he rumbled with a self-indulgent chuckle, picking up one of the keychains. The customer behind him groaned. Ivy made a noise of sarcastic approval. "Very clever. Now shoo, shoo! I've got other customers," she laughed, waving him away. Murdoc grinned and walked out the store.

It wasn't until he had crossed the street when he suddenly became aware of how very strange he felt. The bassist felt…light. And springy. He exhaled, realizing that he had been holding his breath for quite some time. He shook his head violently, hoping to snap back to normality. Anger at the unfamiliarity of this feeling swelled in his chest. Murdoc cleared his throat and walked quickly back home.

* * *

"Ivy? The shipment of piano concertos came in today. What do you want me to do with them?"

Ivy broke away from her thoughts and blinked. "Hmm? Oh, don't worry, dear. I'll take care of it," the woman responded to Lane, her new hire. Lane nodded and resumed stocking. The store was closing in less than 30 minutes. Two customers meandered about the store at a leisurely pace. Ivy balanced a pen between her fingers and reluctantly let her mind wander to a clearly hungover man with sickly green skin and mismatched eyes.

 _With a pretty thing like ye runnin' this, er, establishment, I'll be back very soon._ Ivy shook her head. Fool. He was a fool, and she was a fool, too. Ivy was always quick to judge, and Murdoc Niccals was no exception. She took one look at him and she knew exactly what kind of a man she was dealing with. Crusty. Womanizing. Probably temperamental. Probably alcoholic. But she heard his gravelly voice and low, rumbling laugh and saw his crooked nose and looked in to his mismatched eyes. And she liked him. Ivy exhaled sharply and rubbed her temples. Their next encounter was inevitable. She both dreaded and anticipated it.


	3. Chapter 3

_Chapter 3_

"PLAYER 2 WINS" blinked relentlessly on the TV screen. Murdoc flung his controller across the room and grabbed 2D by the scruff of his jacket. "Ya cheated! ADMIT IT!" he barked. 2D squealed and whimpered. "Di' not!" he cried indignantly.

"Oh, did too!"

"Did NOT! I won fai' an' square!"

"HA! I bet when I wen' teh go get me a beer, ya did somethin' to my controller. It wasn't workin'!" Murdoc hissed, shaking his head scornfully.

2D was incredulous. "Yeh AWLWAYS say ya controller is broken. I won fai' an' square."

"Did not."

"DID. TOO."

"DID-"

Noodle had had enough. "URUSEI!" she barked. "You act like children and shout like baboons. That's a terrible combination!"

Murdoc sulkily released his grip on 2D, who quickly scooched to the other side of the couch, away from his tormentor. Noodle dropped her commanding scowl and got up suddenly. "Where do ya think yer goin'?" Murdoc asked the guitarist. "I need guitar picks," she said simply, wrapping a pewter scarf around her neck. Murdoc shot up from his seat like a bullet. "I-I can get them!" He burst out, a little too loudly. There was a pregnant pause.

Noodle stared uncertainly. "That's…nice, of you? But it is no problem! I can get them myself, I'm already dress-"

"No, no, Noodle, my deares' guitarist, let ME get them," Murdoc interrupted, putting his hands on her shoulders and trying to force her back down on the couch. Noodle resisted, knowing of Murdoc's severe allergic reaction to doing anything remotely altruistic. What was he up to?

"No, it's oka-"

Murdoc cut her off with an exaggerated shushing noise. "Shhshsushshush hush, erhmehgehe, I got it, love. And I kno' which guitah picks ye like n' everything," he said eagerly. 2D exchanged a glance with Noodle. "I fink ye up to something," the blue-haired singer said, his eyes narrowing into thin black slits. "Shut it, 2D," Murdoc growled. He turned to Noodle, bowed with unsteady flourish, and bound out the door before she could say anything else. The guitarist scowled, but then an idea suddenly came to mind, and her lips played into a sly smile.

"2D," she said.

"W-wot?"

"Eheh, are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"I'm neve' on the same page as anybody," 2D replied mournfully.

Noodle grabbed one of 2D's gangly arms and pulled him upward. "Come on! Let's follow Murdoc. We can even wear dark shades, like cool American spies," she said excitedly.

"Aw Noodle, gee, I don't fink Murdoc will like tha' very much…" 2D mumbled as he let himself be pulled along by his bandmember. Noodle wasn't listening, and soon the two were also out the door, hot on Murdoc's tail.


End file.
